BJP must explain why it has been rejecting reforms proposed by UPA: Manish Tiwari

Congress leader Manish Tewari said on Monday that the Bharatiya Janta Party's running with the hare and hunting with the hounds is not going to work. The party needs to give explanation on why they have been rejecting reforms proposed by UPA from last 10 years.

Tewari told ANI, "First of all the Bharatiya Janta Party has to stand up, look at the nation in the eye and explain as to why for the past 10 years they have been opposing every reform which the UPA had proposed."

"Whether it was banking sector, insurance sector, or with regard to capital markets or any other reform. So, therefore, this running with the hare and hunting with the hounds, is not going to work. That when you are in opposition you oppose, when you are in government then you seek support for what you have opposed while you are in the opposition. What kind of chicanery and political opportunism is this?" he added.

The union government is proposing to raise the foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector to 49% from existing 26%. This bill is touted as a potential lifeline for a sector starved of capital and squeezed by regulations.

The previous UPA government's approval for a proposal to raise the limit to 49% has been kept pending for a long time due to opposition by politicians, frustrating many overseas investors lured by low penetration rates in India.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in his budget speech that the "composite cap" in the insurance sector should be increased to 49% from the current level of 26%, with full Indian management and control.